A Tight Fix
by CustysBowties
Summary: Clara and the Doctor end up entangled in a bit of an unexpected tight spot. Awkwardness ensues. Clara/Eleven


"Clara! Clara, Clara—!"

Oh, she'd know that jeering anywhere at any time in the universe. He didn't even have to say her name more than once, barely even a once, and she'd know. It just came with the territory of being around the Doctor for any amount of time longer than a few minutes. Wasn't he supposed to be a thousand-some-odd old alien? And she the barely halfway through her twenties human girl? She felt like she was becoming a mother to him, always rounding whatever corner he seemed to be around to find him tangled up in some mess that would be better suited for his actual mother to solve. Then again, maybe that was just her viewing of him from a nanny's perspective. It was to be expected, what else was she supposed to do? View him as the needy boyfriend? Oh, no. Not going to go _that_ far.

With each bound up the steps into the console room of the TARDIS, another cry of her name escaped his lips. "Yes, yes, yes," she muttered hastily, just loud enough to carry out over the hum of the TARDIS interior. "You're _so_ in need of me! I get it! Uh-huh! I'm coming, coming-"

"Claraa!" Another shout came.

"I can _hear_ you, Doctor!" Another retort she gave, finally reaching where his voice came loudest. The console room, she was sure of it. This is where his voice was coming from. But…

"Doctor?" She asked, looking around, her brown locks swishing about with her as she ducked to look underneath the control panel. Nothing but more dull silver greeted her eyes. No sign of a floppy-haired, bow tie-wearing man anywhere. "Where are you?"

Clara was used to playing the game of hide and seek well enough, but rarely with the Doctor on his own ship. Blimey, he really was turning into the needing child to her mothering skills. Only something she could roll her eyes at and shaking her head disapprovingly toward. She huffed a sigh as another cry for her came, "Clara! Down here! _Below_ the console!"

The nanny turned her head toward the direction his voice carried from, just behind her to the left. She was quick to bound over to the railing, grabbing onto it with her hands, and pivoting herself below the metal bar. She landed with a light thud onto the ground below the console's walkway, finally spotting where the Time Lord lay. She expected him to be wrapped up in some kind of fix that maybe he couldn't get out of on his own, or perhaps he'd gone and gotten his head stuck between a couple of immovable objects. Instead, she saw he was wedged within a small compartment in the side of the TARDIS walls, the metal panel tossed to the side. Close enough.

"Oh no, do _not_ tell me you're stuck there. I don't have to get any butter, do I? Do you even have any butter around here?" Clara asked as she stepped closer, leaning her weight onto her hands that steadied themselves on the metal above the small opening. Just as the Doctor opened his mouth to respond, a few sparks flew just to Clara's left, causing her to yelp slightly and give a small jump.

The Doctor quickly stuck his head out after the sparks settled and flickered out, leaving no trace of their existence but light puffs of smoke behind. "What took you so long!" the Doctor demanded with disgruntlement clearly in his tone. "I could use your help sooner rather than later, but you had to just take your time, didn't-"

"Maybe if you weren't down here hiding in this little cubby hole, I-"

"Cubby hole! Hiding!" the Time Lord exasperated, tucking his head back into the compartment, blocking himself from Clara's view. "My TARDIS does _not_ have cubby holes! And I don't _hide_ in _cubby holes_!"

Clara gave a small sigh, crouching down to see more clearly within the cramped space. It was strangely self-illuminated in a blue glow, allowing for only just enough visibility within the small area. The Doctor was oddly cramped up within, his bowed-legs just barely fitting within the space. It wasn't much room to move within, but enough so that he didn't look to be entirely uncomfortable. He wore a pair of, to be quite honest, comical goggles just on his forehead, accenting the grease marks about his face. His long-sleeved shirt and waistcoat fared no better in escaping any dirtiness, indicating that he must've been down here for quite some time.

She tiled her head to the side a bit, her mouth slightly open as she assessed the situation, "How long have you been down here?"

"Few seconds, few minutes, few hours, does it matter? I need your help!"

"Alright," Clara paused a moment, pursing her lips expectantly, trying to see what exactly he needed help with. "_With what?_" she inquired further when he didn't tell her, her eyebrows raising just slightly. What could he possibly need? Another tool he didn't have with him? A button needing pressing elsewhere?

"Oi, see, that's the thing I don't like about regeneration," he began, seeming to completely disregard his companion's question as he continued to work with whatever was within his hands. "I've never had more than one set of arms or hands! Why couldn't I have been sided with two pair of hands! Or three! That'd solve a whole lot of problems. Do you know how much easier it'd be to fly the TARDIS?"

Clara's face screwed up into one of confusion, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, "And you want me to help you sprout new hands and arms, is that what you're saying?"

"What!" the Doctor exclaimed, looking over to her incredulously. "No, where did you get that idea?! That's just silly!"

"But you just said you wish you'd had extra hands and arms."

A silence passed between them before Clara gave a shake of her head, almost as if she were trying to shake the odd conversation from herself. She gave a light sigh, "Just tell me what you need so badly."

"See those wires," the Doctor said as he nodded his head just to his right, a few wires visibly sticking out from the wall. Clara tilted her head to the side just a bit to see past his head, the wall just opposite of her in the small compartment being no more than a couple arm's length away. She gave a small nod, "Yeah, I see them. What about those wires?"

"I need you to reach past me here, while I hold these few switches in my hands, and hold those two red ends together." He paused a moment, looking back over to her. "Won't be more than a few ticks, promise."

Clara ducked her head to the side just a bit more, trying to gauge just how he thought they were both going to fit in this… Cubby hole. _He_ could barely fit in here, what were the chances of her even squeezing past him? She raised an eyebrow curtly, "Uhhh, Doctor…"

"Yes, yes, what, are you going to do it or not?" he asked as he resumed whatever his hands were busy with before him.

"Don't know if you've noticed, but there's not exactly a lot of room in here."

Pausing, the Time Lord took a look around the small compartment, almost as if he were surprised at her words. "What!" he remarked, a bit taken aback at her lack of confidence in his request. "There is plenty of room! If I didn't think you could do it, I wouldn't have asked you."

Clara considered this for a moment with a look of estranged worry about her features. She didn't like the sound of this. While she trusted the Doctor, and he _did_ make a convincing argument just then, there was something about this that didn't sit very right with her. Still, what was the worst that could happen?

With a light sigh, she situated herself onto her knees, "Alright, alright, let's give it a go, then. Just those wires, hold them together, and that's it? What're you even working on down here?"

"Yes, those wires there, ones with the red ends," he confirmed with a small nod of his head. "Timey splicey jumpers and gravity thingies, they're important."

Now that just sounded exactly like he knew what he was doing. Typical Doctor. He was always naming things in funny ways, never giving their real scientific names. He always seemed to like adding a 'y' to the end of every word. Made them sound more complicated to him, she'd always guessed. No use in questioning it now. She probably wouldn't quite understand even if he did give the proper explanation. With a few short breaths to ready herself, she stuck her head and shoulders into the small compartment, the Doctor's body heat already making this small area warmer than it should've been. He must have been in here for quite some time.

"Oh yes, timey… Splicey thingies and gravity jumpers _definitely_ sound important," she mocked as she climbed in farther.

It was already at a bit of an awkward stage where she was. With her head and half her shoulders in, she was already feeling cramped. She didn't know how she was expected to pull this off without feeling at least a little awkward and uncomfortable. Then again, he didn't promise it would be comfortable and not awkward.

She inched farther and farther into the small compartment, crossing over the Doctor's midsection and under his arms that were still stretched out to hold onto whatever switches he mentioned earlier. It was just playing playing a game of Twister almost, Clara noted. Except there was a lot less room.

Without warning, Clara suddenly felt the Doctor's leg come up unexpectedly, her eyes going wide as she was just in the right position at that time…

"Oi!" she cried out, squirming from the sudden pain. "_Doctor!_"

Her sudden cry out made him jump slightly, only causing his leg to be pulled up further. Little did the poor Time Lord know, he was knocking right into Clara's breasts with his leg. "What! What's wrong!"

"_Your leg!_" she hissed as she brought her arm back, delving her elbow into his thigh. Which, in turn, got a small groan of discomfort from him. "If you want me to do this, then sit still!"

The Doctor glanced over his arms to his right, trying to look to Clara more clearly. Whether it was to assess what he'd done wrong — he genuinely couldn't figure out how he'd hurt her — or give her a less-than-effective glare for the elbowing, he wasn't sure. Either way, he'd focus on sitting still now. Best he could, anyhow. "_Sorry,_" he said under his breath, looking back to the switches he still held firm in his hands.

With a small exhale, Clara, pushed herself further into the small space, now fully within the compartment with him. She continued to rest on her knees, her midsection now crossing over with his own. It was definitely going a bit beyond awkward now. Especially with that little bump into her boobs. She knew he didn't mean to, or was even aware of it for that matter, but that didn't change he'd knocked into them. She just needed to get this over with.

She was now finally face to face with the wires, a small smile of triumph on her face. She didn't even think she could get this far with how little of space there looked to be in here, but she supposed the Doctor was right. Aside from the little incident, definitely aside from _that (how embarrassing), _this wasn't too bad. Minus the awkward constant contact, of course. Using one hand to steady herself, she moved the other to grasp one wire, then over to the other. She carefully bonded them together within her palm, trying her best to keep her balance over his body.

Once she was sure they were steady, she flicked her head to the side a bit, trying to get her hair to move out of the way. With little success. But nonetheless, "Got it. They're together. Now what?"

"Good, good, very good! Give me just a few more moments, and I'll have it all done," he confirmed with a dopey smile, now moving his fingers about a few exposed wires before him. Clara could only hope this wouldn't take much longer. This position wasn't meant to be permanent at all. It was one of those positions that could only be held for a few moments before it started to get overly uncomfortable. Painfully uncomfortable. She supposed to she rest her midsection on top of the Doctor, but there was already enough awkward in this small space without adding that onto it.

A minute passed, and it already felt like forever to Clara. She wanted to switch arms, trade out her arm holding the wires together for the one supporting her weight. But she knew she couldn't let them go. "Doctor," she finally said after another minute or so passed. "How much longer." It was more of a nagging demand than an actual question.

"Just a little longer," the Time Lord promised, much to Clara's disbelief. Hadn't he said something a little similar nearly five minutes ago? Had it really already been nearing five minutes? Okay, maybe she was exaggerating a bit. But not by much. This was really starting to be uncomfortable. Forget awkward, that was way out the window.

Just before Clara was about to give up and pull herself out, the Doctor let out a triumphant laugh, accompanied with a change in the hum of the TARDIS itself. Okay, so maybe he _did_ know what he was doing after all. It even put a smile on Clara's face. Not only because she'd helped, but because now she could finally get out of this awkward position.

But she had to be sure, first and foremost, "Can I let go now?"

"Hm?" the Doctor asked, a little confused at first.

"The wires."

"Oh!" he finally realized, almost as if he'd forgotten Clara wasn't practically laying on top his torso and crotch. "Yes, right, 'course! All done! Thank you, Clara! You can go ahead and get out now, quick as y'd like."

"Finally," came a sigh of relief. Clara let go of the wires, dropping her hand down to help support her weight. It was more than a relief. Her arm had actually begun to ache in the oddest way, being held up as it had been. It felt much better already. With the fact that this small condensed area was beginning to get a little too warm and she was in constant physical contact with him in here. Time to get out. Before this could get anymore awkward.

Just as Clara began to try and push herself back… So did the Doctor try to readjust his position. For whatever reason he needed to. Somehow, he'd moved to trap her even more where she was. She didn't quite want to say anything right away, thinking that maybe she could squeeze out from even this. But somehow, that just didn't work out.

Clara did the only thing she knew she could. She kept trying to back out. But it seemed like the Doctor was trying to do the same. Or maybe even try to make her escape from the body-heated space a little easier. All she knew was that he wasn't helping. Whatever he was doing. Finally it got to be a bit too much. Her legs had somehow gotten entangled in his own, the upper half of her body still laying over his midsection.

"Doctor," she blurted out, annoyance seeping through her tone. "What are you doing!"

He sounded almost like he was offended, "What am I doing?! I'm trying to move so you can get out easier! What are _you_ doing, you're squirming about and not even trying to get through the opening!"

With a growl of frustration, Clara gave a push backward, trying her best to at least get half her body out of the _cubby hole. _She damn well still considered this a cubby hole. It was small enough. But in the process of her heave backwards, she lost the balance her arms were holding her up with, her elbows buckling backward. Which resulted in a very strained cry of pain from the Doctor.

"Agh! Clara! That's.." he finally managed, evidently in a considerable amount of pain. Oh boy… She'd finally realized where her elbows had buckled back into. Right in the goods. An eye for an eye maybe? A little subconscious revenge for him knocking her breasts? Okay, maybe not. This one was just a little worse.

"Ooh," she carefully moved her elbows away from his crotch, cringing very slightly at her mistake. "_Sorry._"

The Doctor let out another groan of lingering pain, taking a slow breath, "No, no, it's fine, fine. Look, just… I'll stay still this time, just worm your way out."

All Clara had to do was assess this situation carefully. Her legs were already getting to the point she could be in a sitting position, so this was good. She would take it as good. Taking a small breath, she readied herself, pushing her legs further out. They were still oddly tangled between both the Doctor's legs, but there was just enough room that she straightened them out.

Now that she was sitting up, she brought her arms back to herself, looking over to the Doctor as she did so. He gave her a bit of a forced smile, knowing he must still be recuperating from the knock to his balls. The goggles he once had on his forehead had slid down to now hang around his neck, a change that must've happened during their strange little entanglement.

With her arms free, and her back now facing the exit, she leaned backwards, her arms jutting out of the compartment. She could already feel the cooler air hitting her face as she pushed against the wall of the TARDIS, trying to free her legs from his now. With a little more pushing, she finally unlaced her legs from his, freeing her entirely from that compartment.

Giving a small yelp, she landed with a light thud on the outside of the small space. Freedom! It never felt so good. Clara sat herself up onto her elbows, her feet still slightly within the threshold of the compartment. Within a few moments, she was beginning into a small giggle. It grew into a bubbling laughter that the Doctor soon joined in with, leaving them both laughing at the odd situation they'd both gotten into.

Their laughter was only interrupted by a sudden burst of sparks within the small compartment the Doctor was within, causing the hum of the TARDIS to revert back to what it had been before they'd accomplished their task. Clara jumped back very slightly, her eyes widening, "Doctor! Are you alright?"

She quickly sat up onto her knees, peering into the smoke-filled area to see if the Time Lord was unharmed. A few coughs greeted her in response, indicating that he was more than likely unharmed.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" he complained, sounding distraught. "The splicers, they came unraveled again!"

"_Meaning.._," Clara pressed, waving some of the smoke with a few light coughs herself.

The Doctor groaned, "Meaning that I'll need you to hold the wires again so I can rejoin the-"

"Nope!" she interjected, cutting him off effectively. "I'm afraid that's a no-can-do, Doctor."

"But I-"

The brunette girl stood, brushing herself off very slightly, "Nuh-huh!"

The Doctor was really hard pressed now. He really needed her help again. "Clara, I really need-!"

"Can't hear you," she called out as she made her way back over to the stairs, leading her back to the top walkway of the console room. There was no way she was going to go through that again.

The Time Lord cried out for her even as she walked off into the corridors, "Come on, Clara—! _Clara!_ This isn't fair!"

He could call out for her as much as he liked. He'd managed for over a thousand years taking care of this ship alone, and he'd just have to continue to do that now. Needy boyfriend? Well… No, still not going that far.

****End****

/I originally posted this fic on my Tumblr blog, david-tennants-little-fangirl, but I thought I'd share it here as well. Reviews are always awesome! c:


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